(Newswire.net — July 24, 2019) — If Google and Yahoo have suffered data breaches, you can be sure that small businesses are also victims of cyber security attacks. Statistically, 58% of malware victims are small businesses, and 61% of small businesses suffered from a cyberattack in 2017.
There are a lot of approaches to stop cyberattacks.
But one approach to help stop the spread of malware and keep unwanted material, including viruses from being downloaded, is to start blocking websites. This approach may seem easy, but with billions of websites, which should you be blocking?
Should Social Media Sites Be Blocked?
No. The major social networks shouldn’t be blocked, and most of these sites aren’t spreading viruses or malware. You see, a survey found that 53% of workers claim that their employer doesn’t block social networks, and just 22% of workers have used their mobile phone as a workaround to get past the block.
Sure, logging on to Facebook will lower productivity, but when blocked, you’re also removing:
- Networking opportunities among employees
- External sources of information
- Marketing potential for small businesses
Oftentimes, for small businesses, social media is a marketing tool. Perhaps Jeff, your employee, was logging into social media to show off the new pool that your company installed. Jeff wants to show off his work and praise your company, but he can’t do that because social media sites are blocked at work.
Should Video Sites Be Blocked?
Maybe. You may want to block sites that are obviously not appropriate, but you may also want to block video sites, such as Netflix or other streaming services. One site that is not recommended to block is YouTube.
Not only will employees try to unblock videos, but they’ll lose a great source of information.
Small home improvement companies may use videos as a reference for a different type of job that they’re handling. There may also be lawyers checking out past cases on YouTube. It’s a platform that can be used for entertainment, but it’s also a tool that can be used for:
- Information
- Productivity
There is also evidence that 17% of employees watch videos at work, but these small breaks are also found to make workers more productive. So, even if initial productivity is lost, there is a productivity benefit in the future.
Which Sites Should Be Blocked?
Smaller sites that are filled with spyware and malware are a good start. Malwarebytes offers their own list of sites to block based on a variety of different threat parameters. The software is a great option for small businesses because the software is cheap and blocks websites based on different threat reports.
Cherry picking sites to block will be difficult – you can start with blocking common websites, dating sites, downloads from company computers and download sites.
And you can also start blocking sites through monitoring employee behavior. Rather than blocking sites randomly, research solutions that will provide build-in protection versus malware and phishing.
You’ll also want strict rules in place on downloads and virus scanners in place.
Emails are a major reason for phishing attacks, and this means that employees must be taught to monitor their email for phishing attempts and to not click on links or download material from unknown senders.